Ski & Snowboard Club Vail receives gold status

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail board members, staff, supporters and friends gather for a photo at the 2014 USSA Congress Annual Awards Ceremony in Park City on May 16 after SSCV was presented with the following 2014 USSA Awards: USSA Club of the Year, Alpine Club of the Year, Freeski Club of the Year, Freestyle Club of the Year and Snowboard Club of the Year. In addition, Elijah Teter, SSCV snowboard coach, received the USSA Snowboard Domestic Coach of the Year Award that evening.

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VAIL — Ski & Snowboard Club Vail had an extraordinary year at the development and elite level across all sports. Under the leadership of Aldo Radamus, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail set the standard in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s new Club Certification program and is one of a small handful of clubs newly certified at the gold level.

The overall USSA Club of the Year honor came on the heels of winning the award this year at the sport level in alpine, freesking, freestyle and snowboarding. In addition, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail snowboard coach Elijah Teter was named the USSA Domestic Snowboard Coach of the Year. These awards were presented at the USSA Awards Dinner in Park City, Utah, on May 16. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail had 12 current and alumni athletes compete at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

USSA named 10 ski and snowboard clubs as its first podium certified clubs as part of its new club development program. The clubs were recognized on May 14 at the annual USSA Club Excellence Conference in Park City. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail was further recognized for its excellence in and focus on “professional development” in the certification presentation. The podium level certification process involves a rigorous self-study and peer review of best principles and practices for ski and snowboard clubs. Each club had an on-site visit and review conducted by USSA High Performance staff and other leaders in the ski and snowboard club world.

POWER OF COLLABORATION

When asked what he took most pride in related to Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s receipt of the USSA Gold Certification distinction, John Cole, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail human performance director who spearheaded this two-plus year process, said, “How much total collaboration among our staff and USSA was involved in the process. This was the culmination of over two years of work from many people to make this happen.”

Asked if he thought this was a learning process for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, Cole said, “For as many successes as Ski & Snowboard Club Vail has experienced, the Gold Certification process provided the organization with additional knowledge on ‘best practices’ at all levels from the youth program level to the board of trustee level, helping to ensure the long-term growth and stability of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail. It allowed us to learn valuable lessons which we will continue to build upon to benefit our community. The Gold Certification status comes with an infrastructure for continued accountability to the USSA Gold Certification Committee to ensure ongoing compliance as well as evolution and growth in the areas identified during the process.

“We were fortunate to have not only had numerous Ski & Snowboard Club Vail staff members actively involved in various components of the certification process, including Aldo Radamus, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail executive director, who was a member of the USSA Club Certification Task Force, but also Ski & Snowboard Club Vail volunteers Brad Ghent (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail board member) and Anne-Marie Keane (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail parent) who were actively involved in the internal audit. Ski & Snowboard Club Vail also had the benefit of the expertise of Bob Devaney, a third party USSA Club Certification Consultant (USA Hockey) and Brian Krill, USSA club development manager, both of whom were active participants in the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail club audit.”

The gold-certified clubs are:

• Burke Mountain Academy (East Burke, Vermont)

• Killington Mountain School (Killington, Vermont)

• New York Ski Education Foundation (Wilmington, New York)

• Stratton Mountain School (Stratton, Vermont)

• Waterville Valley BBTS (Waterville Valley, New Hampshire)

• Buck Hill Ski Racing Club (Burnsville, Minnesota)

• Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (Vail)

• Rowmark Ski Academy (Salt Lake City, Utah).

The Silver-Certified Clubs are:

• International Snowboard Training Center (Frisco)

• Sun Valley Ski Education Foundations (Sun Valley, Idaho)

“This is an exciting time for the USSA and its partnership with clubs,” Radamus said.

“This process not only recognizes club excellence, but also gives a clear road map for all clubs to become stronger organizations,” he said. “This is a strategic move for the USSA to support clubs, be a more club-based organization and better understand the challenges and opportunities that exist for clubs in every corner of the country.”